406 INVERTEBRATES. 



Tiemoralis), and the common Garden Snail (^Utlix aspersd), are 

 the most conspicuous. The Edible Snail was imported into Eng- 

 land by the Romans, who prized them highly, and fattened them 

 in a building erected .for that express purpose, as indeed they are 

 now in some parts of the Continent. This snail grows to a large 

 size, nearly attaining the magnitude of an ordinary closed fist. 



The eyes of the Snail are placed at the extremity of the 

 tentacula, or " horijs," as they are usually called. 



The common Garden Snail is so well known that no descrip- 

 tion of it is needed. It lays eggs very large in comparison with 

 the size of the parent; they are about the size of small peas, 

 round, soft, and semi-transparent. They are deposited about two 

 inches below the surface of the earth. 



This creature is very tenacious of life. A living snail was 

 exhibited, at the Ashmolean Society at Oxford, which had made 

 a long sea voyage, packed up in cotton wool. An immersion in 

 water soon brought the inhabitant to view, and when it was exhi- 

 bited it was crawling about a box in perfect health. 



The Eoyal Staircase Wentletrap, an example of the 

 marine Gasteropoda, is a native of the Chinese and Indian seas, 

 and was formerly so scarce that a specimen two inches in length 

 would sell for a hundred pounds, in England. Even now, a very 

 fine specimen cannot be obtained under six or seven pounds. For 

 this reason, the specific name "pretiosa" was afSxed to it by 

 Lamarck. 



The Monet Cowry and the Whelk. — The Cowries are 

 not less celebrated for the elegance of their form, and the beauty 

 of their markings, than for the curious circumstance that one 

 species is used as current coin in Guinea and Bengal, thus being 

 employed for the same purpose by two entirely distinct races of 

 men, situated in different quarters of the globe. Their value is 

 of course small in proportion to gold or silver. At the present 

 time a rupee in Bengal is worth 3200 Cowries, the value of the 

 rupee being about 52 cents. 



The Limpets are spread over every latitude, except the 

 Arctic regions. The common Limpet is to be found on every rock 



